From wsc.co.uk, on 1 Aug. 2011, by Geoff Bradford, ‘Italy’s match-fixing investigation will run and run‘.
Note: as the above articles points out, most observers of the Italian game don’t think the implicated club Atalanta will get relegated back down to Serie B as punishment for their part in the betting and match fixing scandal from last season (which took place mostly in Serie B and Serie C). Atalanta will probably get a points deduction for this season.
…

Two of the 3 clubs promoted from Serie B in June will be immediately returning to the Italian top flight – Atalanta and AC Siena. The other promoted club, Novara, has not been in the first division since 1956.

Atalanta are from Bergamo, which is in the Region of Lombardy, 45 km. (29 miles) north-east of Milan. Bergamo has a population of around 120,000 {2010 figure}. Such close proximity to Milan and the 2 Milanese footballing giants (Milan and Internazionale) has certainly prevented Atalanta from building a larger fan base. Atalanta drew 18, 737 per game last season, but that number is much higher than recent attendance figures because the club had slashed ticket prices following relegation from Serie A in 2009-10, and that helped increase the crowds. In fact, Atalanta was drawing in the 12,000 per game range in their last 2 seasons in Serie A (08/09 and 09/10). Atalanta have played 50 seasons in Serie A, the 2011-12 Serie A season will be their 51st. The club has no national titles, but Atalanta did win the 1963 Coppa Italia title, defeating Torino 3-1. Their highest finish in Serie A was in 1947-48, when they finished 5th (in the first Serie A season following World War II). The club was formed in 1907, and played with black and white vertically-striped jerseys. The club took their name from the character in Greek mythology named Atalanta, who was a female athlete. In 1924 a merger between Atalanta and Bergamasca created Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio S.p.A. Bergamasca had played in blue jerseys, so the new club began wearing black and blue vertically-striped jerseys. Atalanta joined the Italian league system in 1929, and first reached Serie A in 1937-38, but were relegated back to Serie B immediately. Their next spell in the top flight was much longer, a 16-season spell from 1940-41 to 1958-59. They won promotion back to Serie A one season later, for the 1960-61 season, and this time Atalanta stayed in the top tier for a decade, before relegation in 1972-73. After that, Atalanta morphed into a yo-yo club. Promoted in 1977/relegated back to Serie B two seasons later in 1979. Promoted in 1985/relegated two seasons later in 1987. Promoted in 1988/relegated six seasons later in 1994. Promoted in 1995/relegated three seasons later in 1998. Promoted in 2000/relegated three seasons later in 2003. Promoted in 2004/relegated one season later in 2005. Promoted in 2006/relegated four seasons later in 2010. Atalanta plays in the 24,642-capacity Stadio Atleti Azzuri d’Italia.
…AC Siena are from Siena, in the region of Tuscany. The city of Siena has a long history and a prominence and is quite a tourist magnet. But it is a tiny city – Siena’s population is only around 54,000 {2010 figure}. AC Siena drew 7,281 per game last season, and drew between 8 and 11,000 per game when they were in the top flight (for the first time) for a 7-season spell from 2003-04 to 2009-10. Società Sportiva Robur was formed in 1904. In 1933, the club’s name was changed to Associazione Calcio Siena SpA. The club still maintains the odd Robur reference in their crest, and around town the football team is called Robur to differentiate them from the club’s basketball team. Siena never managed to reach the second division, let alone the first division, in the nineteen-hundreds, and were finally promoted to Serie B in 2000. Siena then won promotion to Serie A three seasons later, in 2003. The club has played 7 seasons in the Italian top flight, never reaching higher than 13th place (which they did in 03/04 and in 08/09). 2011-12 will be Siena’s 8th season in Serie A. Siena have a loose affiliation with Juventus in that Juve often loans out players to Siena for experience, and the two clubs co-own some players (which is a common practice in Italy). Siena play at the Stadio Artemio Franchi – Montepaschi Arena, which has a capacity of just 15,373. A recent renovation got rid of the running track behind one goal. Further renovations are not planned, because in March 2011, Siena announced plans for a new stadium, to be built just south of the city, {see this article, with architect’s renderings, ‘Siena’s new stadium will be below ground level‘, from the brilliant Dirty Tackle site}.
…Novara are from Novara, in the Region of Piedmont, 44 km. (27 miles) west of MIlan, and 88 km. (55 miles) north-east of Turin. Novara has a population of around 105,000 {2010 figure}. Because the club is from that historical region, Novara wear jerseys in the shade of blue (a grayish light royal blue) of the nation-of-Italy’s-founder-ruling-entity, the House of Savoy {as does the Italian national football team, see this ‘Why do Italian national sporting teams play in blue colours?‘, from Guardian.co.uk}. Novara has now won back-to-back promotions. Novara drew drew 2,241 per game in Serie C in 2009-10, and 5,449 per game in Serie B in 2010-11 . [I couldn't find attendance figures for Novara's last season in Serie A, 56 years ago.] Novara Calcio S.p.A were formed in 1908, and made their debut in the Italian league system in 1912. The club comes from the area in the eastern part of the Piedmont that was home to a very successful club in the early days of Italian football – Pro Vercelli, who won 7 Italian titles, their last in 1922, but are now a third division club [Novara is 22 km/14 mi. NE of Vercelli]. Novara first won promotion to Serie A in 1936, but went straight back down. Their next spell in the top flight lasted 3 seasons, from 1938-39 to 1940-41. Novara’s third spell in the top tier lasted 8 seasons, from 1948-49 to 1955-56, and included the club’s highest placement, at 8th place in 1951-52. It was during this era that Silvio Piola played for Novara. Piola racked up over 300 goals for Novara, and their stadium is named after him. Novara have spent much of their last 50 years in Serie C and Serie C2 [which are the third and fourth divisions, and now (since 2008) have the name of Legia Pro Prima Divisione and Legia Pro Seconda Divisione]. After 33 years below the second division, Novara won promotion back to Serie B in 2009-10. They finished in 3rd place in Serie B in 2010-11, and entered the promotion play-offs. In the first round, their 2-2 aggregate versus Reggina was good enough for them to advance, because in Italy, an aggregate tie in this case is not decided by away goals or overtime but by league finish, and Novara finished higher than Reggina. In the finals, Novara defeated Padova 2-0 in aggregate. On the map page you can see the Novara players celebrating their promotion with a victory lap around their Stadio Silvio Piola, which has a capacity of only 10,106. This season will be Novara’s 13th season in Serie A.

By the way, that baseball park next to Novara’s stadium (as seen in the satellite image on the map page) is the home of Italian Baseball League ball club Novara United. Novara United are a new member of the IBL {see this from BaseballItalia.com site from Feb.2011, here}. The Italian Baseball League is an 8-team league that was formed in 1948 {‘Italian Baseball League‘, page at en.wikipedia.org.}

So here is a map of the 2011 Italian Baseball League -
Click on the image below for map of Italian Baseball League 2011 season…

_

Photo credits -
Atalanta… Photo of roofed stand at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia from fussballtempel.net. Interior photo of Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia by albe at Panoramio.com, here. Aerial photo from Skyscrapercity.com thread, here [and from a source that included a tag of 'Skypictures', which was from a site I could not find following a Google search]. Aerial image from Bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view, here.